


Mist

by cosmic__boi



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Bullying, Chess, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Drinking, Established Relationship, Fluff, Food, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentioned Bruce Wayne, Mentioned Jeremiah Valeska, Mentioned Jerome Valeska, Mentioned Jim Gordon, Mentioned Selina Kyle, Other, Reading, Tea, but not what you think, good doggo, the 10 years in prison never happened, why would it?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:09:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25778701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmic__boi/pseuds/cosmic__boi
Summary: It's a very misty day in Gotham, and Oswald decides to stay at home for the day. With Ed, that is. And maybe with their dog, some nice books, and tea.
Relationships: Martin & Edward Nygma, Oswald Cobblepot & Edward Nygma, Oswald Cobblepot & Martin, Oswald Cobblepot & Martin & Edward Nygma, Oswald Cobblepot/Edward Nygma
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	Mist

**Author's Note:**

> beta'd by justabitwayward
> 
> what decade in prison? what are you talking about?

A mist had settled over Gotham.

Most days tended to be overcast and gloomy, but the gothic city turned positively eerie with the fog that swallowed up buildings and streets and crept into every alleyway and turned the ominous lights of the city a dull haze of colors sweeping across an oil painting. On the outskirts of the city lay a mansion, which normally looked ghostly without the ominous weather. It was old and large and gothic, without a lot of electricity running through it, and it sat on a damp hill next to some woods. In the mansion, in a large kitchen, were three people (and one upstairs, who had not awoken yet), along with a dog. 

Olga, the house’s maid, cook, and general caretaker, was bustling in the kitchen and preparing a few servings of oatmeal. Beside her was Ed, tall and in a satin green robe, who was making coffee and scrambled eggs. Oswald sat at the table, perusing the newspaper and reading aloud the interesting bits. 

“ ‘Bruce Wayne, local billionaire, set to return after gone 10 years’. Oh my, the Wayne boy is coming back. I’m sure Selina will be _delighted_ to see him after he left for a decade.”

Ed snorted. He bustled around for a bit, preparing the food and coffee, before pausing again. “Dozen minus two and multiplied again make a century. What am I?”

“Years.” Oswald replied automatically. He looked up, waiting for an explanation.

“Can’t believe it’s been so long. Ten whole years, and look how far we’ve come.”

“Indeed,” Oswald nodded, a ghost of a smile across his face. “Almost ten years since we decided to finally cease being idiots.”

“Yep.” Ed turned and carried the scrambled eggs to the table before returning for the coffees. “And, almost our 8-year anniversary.” 

“Why of course. Here,” Oswald made to stand but immediately fell back into his seat, hissing in pain. “Damn that hurts.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Penguin, we can carry everything ourselves,” Olga nodded. 

Ed furrowed his brow at Oswald. “Is it the weather?”

“Yes, I suppose- where are you going?” Oswald turned to see Ed briskly leaving the room and returning a minute later with a blanket. “Oh, thank you, darling.”

Ed helped Oswald wrap the blanket around his leg to keep it warm. “Of course,” He pecked a kiss on the side of Oswald’s head.

“Ugh, I do _not_ want to go to work today. Not with this weather,” Oswald grumbled, taking a sip of his coffee. “Although this coffee might be so good it could get me through the day.” 

“Why don’t you just _not_ go to work, then?”

Oswald scoffed. “What, just not go to work today? Take the day off?”

“Oswald,” Ed knelt beside Oswald, cupping his face in his hands. “You work yourself so much, and you’ve accomplished so much. You can take a day off, Ozzie.”

Oswald hummed in consideration, studying Ed. They had been together for several years, and known each other for even longer. The man with the odd quirks and spontaneous riddles and horrific green suit, the man Oswald had fallen for. The man he loved. Some days, Oswald would wake up beside Ed, went down to breakfast together, sat beside each other as they ate or read the news, holding each other, pecking kisses at random, and Oswald would wonder if it wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t always bliss, but he still had Ed. His dear Eddie, and some days, that was all he needed.

“You’re right, I _can_ take a day off!” Oswald declared. Ed’s face spread into a grin as Oswald took his phone and made a call to the Iceberg Lounge’s manager to tell her that Oswald would be out. He put the phone away once he was done and began to eat his breakfast with Ed (Olga liked to eat in a separate room, mostly watching her shows), when the fifth occupant of the house came down. 

“Morning, Martin,” Ed called out to the young man. Martin waved back, yawning as he poured himself a bowl of cereal and milk. He was attending Gotham University, but was on break and staying with his parents for a few days. Oswald and Ed turned to the young man, who had tapped their shoulders lightly. 

Martin signed, _I am going out with some friends tonight. See you two tonight, I love you._

Oswald nodded back and signed _I love you_ along with Ed. Martin downed his cereal quickly and left the house, leaving Ed and Oswald on their own. They sat in the kitchen in a comfortable silence, eating their food, holding each other’s hand as they ate. Once they finished, they made their way to the large library and sat down on a couch together to read for a bit, occasionally staring out the window into the mist in thought. Ed ended up laying his head in Oswald’s lap as they read, Oswald absently running his fingers through Ed’s mess of soft, brown curls. Their dog, Cerberus, lay curled up on the couch beside them. They read into the early afternoon, only pausing to eat when Olga brought them sandwiches. 

“The book you recommended to me, _Catch-22_ , is quite funny,” Oswald commented as they ate. 

“Glad you like it,” Ed studied the mist outside. Although it was around noon, the heavy mist was still settled. “The word play is quite good.”

“Indeed. How’s your book?”

“ _Don Quixote_? Fantastic! Did you know it’s considered the first modern novel? Here, let me read you a quote,” Ed put down his sandwich and grabbed the heavy novel, flipping to one of his many sticky notes. “ ‘When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies?’ I think that’s pretty apt, and it was written in 1605!”

“Wow,” Oswald nodded. “That should be the official slogan of Gotham, eh?” 

“Indeed,” The two chuckled, finishing up their sandwiches. “Hey, are you up for a game of chess?”

“Sure.”

They set up the chess game and began. Ed started explaining his next scheme to Oswald, who listened intently as the game went on, occasionally scratching Cerberus behind his ears. They played two out of three, with Oswald winning out. 

“Damn, good game, Oswald,” Ed grumbled, although he let Oswald kiss him on the cheek as he laughed at Ed’s demeanor. 

“Oh come on, you win most of the time.” Ed looked to Oswald, who smiled, which made Ed break and smile back, which he tried to hide unsuccessfully until they were both in fits of giggles. 

“Shut up.” Ed pulled Oswald to his chest as they calmed down, holding each other. 

A few hours later, Ed awoke on the couch, Oswald still asleep on his chest. The grey day had waned into early evening, casting a faint golden glow on the hazed world. Cerberus lay curled up against the two of them, and his warm presence, combined with the soft up and down of Oswald’s chest in his deep breaths, began to lull Ed back to sleep on the peaceful afternoon…

_Bang!_

The slam of the front door to the mansion echoing through the rooms jolted Oswald and Ed (and Cerberus) out of sleep and immediately into alert mode. Were they being attacked? Was it the GCPD? They looked at each other and mentally began going through a list of likely enemies or crimes they had recently committed… until they heard the soft sobbing. 

They quickly made their way to the foyer, where they saw Martin quickly moving up the stairs, tears streaming down his face. He seemed a little drunk, swaying as he pushed upwards and presumably to his room upstairs. 

“Martin?”

He stopped at the top of the stairs, but didn’t turn around. 

Ed and Oswald looked at each other. “Is everything ok?”

Martin began nodding his head before he broke into heavier sobs. 

“Oh, Martin,” Oswald made his way to Martin and hugged him as they sat on the stairwell. Cerberus bounded up the stairs and started nuzzling Martin gently while Ed sat a few steps below them as Oswald softly reassured the young man. Once he calmed down, he began signing, _I was out with some friends when they began making fun of me being mute, and then this enby I like, well, they started ridiculing me as well. And then they told me to leave, because I was bringing down the mood_ . Martine hiccuped before pressing through. _As I was leaving Alex- the enby- started spitting on-_ He stopped as he dissolved into sobs. 

Oswald held him closer, while having a look that could slay a whole army in his eyes. Ed thought that he most likely had a similar look on his face as they both tried to console their son. 

“Here, let me get you some tea,” Ed got up and quickly went to the kitchen to make a cup of lavender tea, Martin’s favorite. He found the two in the living room, Martin wearing a fuzzy blanket and rubbing Cerberus’ stomach. He signed a _thank you_ before taking the tea. 

“Of course, Martin,” Ed rubbed his back soothingly. “That was a horrible thing to happen.”

“None of those people deserve your friendship,” Oswald stated firmly. “As for this Alex…” Oswald scoffed. “They don’t deserve your affections.” Ed nodded vigorously. 

Martin sighed and nodded, drooping into the blanket. He finished off the tea and got up to leave. 

“We love you, Martin,” Ed said, standing and giving him a hug. “And you aren’t whatever they may have said you were. You are strong and smart and an amazing young man.”

“And we are so proud to have you as our son,” Oswald added, standing to join the hug. 

They said their goodnights and Martin made his way to his room, Cerberus trailing after him. Oswald and Ed went to the kitchen and sat at the table, processing what Martin had told them. Oswald opened his mouth but Ed shook his head. “I don’t think we should kill them, Os. No matter how much we want to.”

Oswald looked put out. “Fine, I suppose. But I am rather infuriated. And to have someone you have those feelings toward do something so cruel like that... “ Oswald instinctively reached out to take Ed’s hands, gently squeezing them as a reminder of his forgiveness and love. “They are definitely getting banned from all the locations I have.”

“That’s probably a good idea, but that’s all we can do, Os,” Ed said. “Martin is old enough where he can fight his battles. We are just here to support him as best as we can.”

Oswald sighed and chuckled. “When did you get so wise? Where’s dumbass Ed? What have you done with my idiotic genius husband, huh?”

“Genius you say?” They both chuckled before returning to a thoughtful silence. “Tea?”

“Sounds lovely.”

Ed set to making tea while Oswald made some toast and butter.  
  


“Oh, Jonathan and Jervis want me over tomorrow, to discuss some plan they have. I’ll be out of the house pretty early but I’ll be back in the afternoon.”

“Alright, darling. Remind me, are they together as well?”

“I don’t think even _they_ know, Os.” 

“Ah, well, say hello for me. And see if they’re planning to attack the Lounge, I’d like to know if I have to break out the gas masks tomorrow or not.” 

“Will do. Say, have you heard anything from any of the other… what are they calling us, Rogues? Are any of the other ‘Rogues’ planning something?”

“Can’t say I have, dear. Although I suspect Selina will be doing something spectacular around the time the Wayne boy will be returning. As a, you know, _coincidence_.”

“Of course. Well, tea’s almost ready. Want me to put on the news?”

“Sure, why not. I’m almost finished with this, do you want some jam on yours?”

“Blackberry, if you don’t mind. Thanks.”

“Of course, Eddie. Oh goodness, is that Jim on the news?”  
  


“Ugh, Jimbo himself. Here let me get the volume- there.”

“As of right now, we have some leads as to where he may have escaped to, along with possible accomplices. We are en route to these places as I speak, and Jeremiah Valeska will soon be apprehended. To be on the safe side, please remain in your homes-”

Ed and Oswald stared at the TV in shock as they watched footage of a brain-dead Jeremiah Valeska being played over the report of him apparently escaping Arkham, and out on the loose. 

“Oh crud.”

“Indeed. But… we’re safe, probably, anyways, so let’s ignore any and all Valeskas tonight, ok?”

“Ok. Although, if it’s Jerome that we have to deal with, I’m going to get worked up about him coming back again, so no promises.”

“Sounds about right.” 

They took the food and drinks to the table and enjoyed their evening meal. The taste of ginger tea with honey, and butter and jam on toast eased most of the two men’s anxieties. Oswald looked out the window once again. 

“The mist is making everything so eerie, I’m half-expecting a ghost meeting tonight.”

“Well, Oswald, thankfully ghosts aren’t real.”

“Indeed, and thank goodness for that.” 

They both smiled at their little joke, once a harsh rebuke, now an inside comment made to make them smile. 

“Well,” Oswald began to say as he started putting the dishes in the dishwasher. “Today was lovely, minus what happened with Martin. Calming.” He locked eyes with Ed. “It was very peaceful, so thank you for suggesting I take today off. I loved it.”

Ed smiled somewhat sheepishly. “I’m glad, Os. I cannot be bought, but I can be stolen with one glance. I'm worthless to one but priceless to two.”

“I love you too, Eddie.” Oswald leaned up and pressed a kiss to Ed’s lips, dissolving into his embrace. “I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: cosmic-jax


End file.
